MVF Films
Documentary filmmaking enables us to tell the personal stories about the larger conflicts in our society. Whether it be climate change, overfishing or alternative energy production, the real story is about the people involved and their journey. My collaborators and I started MVF films to tell important stories and have more impact through reaching larger audiences that modern day film festivals and streaming enable. We released two films in 2025 and have several others in development;opment that reveal the challenges of living an authentic life.
2025 Films
Whits End
The Rockaways, Long Island, NY
A man's fascination with the ocean leads him on a career of culinary challenges and success. His connection with the sea inspired him to open up an oceanside restaurant on Long Island.. His preparations and understanding of his ingredients match his insight of the sea and its bounty. The resulting dishes reveal the soul of the man and his connection to nature.
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Seafarer
Long Island, NY
A raw, unfiltered portrait of John McMurray—a Long Island charter captain caught between his love for the ocean and the brutal economics of chasing fish for a living. With a voice as sharp as his opinions, McMurray lays bare the contradictions of modern fishing: the thrill, the grind, and the hard truth that sometimes the best thing for the fish is for people like him to stop. Equal parts fishing tale and ecological reckoning, this film captures a man fighting to protect the very thing that could put him out of business.
Stranded on Earth
Carson, WA
The pandemic of 2020 had so many unexpected consequences. When I found myself in remote Washington State in the winter of 2021 I discovered what it means to be stranded... on Earth. This creative journey explores an artist that finds the isolation to be a creative freedom. And the resulting essays, photographs and realization changed his world.
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Released Films
Part of the grants program at Marine Ventures was working with nonprofits to create, produce and release films that told their story. We offer this as a free service to nonprofits that we felt had a compelling mission and untold story. They usually premiered at film festivals ensuring reaching a wide audience. Some at available on Netflix.
Keeping Country
The Kimberley, Western Australia
The Kimberley, in Northwestern Australia is the size of California with only 40,000 residents. Nowhere else on the planet have people lived as long within, and in balance with, a landscape. Now, a cultural legacy over 40,000 years old is at risk from mining and development.
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After The Spill
New Orleans, LA
In 2005 Hurricane Katrina devastated the coast of Louisiana. Five years later the Deepwater Horizon exploded and spilled more than 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, the worst ecological disaster in North American history. Jon Bowermaster's timeless film reminds us all of what can happenand the consequences of cleaning up people's lives as well as the ocean and wetlands.
Tiny Trees
Seattle Washington
In October of 2014 Tiny Trees Preschool won Social Venture Partners’ Fast Pitch competition for best non-profit start up. At the time, the dream of affordable, nature rich, outdoor preschool was just that – a dream. It became a reality in September 2016, when Tiny Trees opened preschools in four city parks in low income neighborhoods across Seattle. We documented a day in the life of these precious children living free in the woods.
A Changing Delta
Baja Norte, Mexico
Left for dead after decades of neglect, the terminus of the Colorado River in Northern Mexico was once a vibrant wetland ecosystem the size of Rhode Island. “A Changing Delta” chronicles the stories, issues, and people of the Colorado River Delta in Mexico, and what they’ve done to reconnect one of the most iconic American rivers to the sea.
Coastal Walkabout
Broome, Western Australia
Coastal Walkabout is a new open access citizen science initiative which utilizes smart phone technology and social media to engage and motivate local communities to gather scientific observations within coastal and estuarine environments in Western Australia. This projects sits at the intersection of 3 of the things that enabled the project: technology, open access science and the ocean. And back in 2012 the use of citizen science was a major advance in conservation research with the power of the iPhone.
